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David Rocastle, who sadly passed away in March 2001, was best friends with Wright and took it upon himself to explain the importance of the north London derby in a discussion that went on for a number of hours.

(Image: Simon Bruty/Getty Images)

"Everyone calls him Rocky, and David Rocastle is the reason I still support Arsenal," Wright recalls in his entry for The Players Tribune . "He was the hero of the estate we grew up on — the one who’d made it.

"The entire estate emptied out the day Arsenal beat Liverpool to win the league in 1989 because we’d all gone out to find a TV to watch Rocky play. He was like a brother to me. We’d grabbed the same buses to and from school in Brockley growing up, and we were adults I’d bump into him every now and again.

"He’d be 16, and I’d be 20, and he’d be telling me, “You’re better than the players I’m playing against. You can do it. You’ve got to try and do it.” At a time when no one believed in me, not even myself, Rocky believed in me.

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"So when I finished having my medical at Arsenal and he was there, waiting for me, I knew I was going to be O.K.

"Rocky took me under his wing from Day One. Literally, I went round his house after my medical and he did everything he could to look after me. He bigged me up, told me not to pay attention to critics and spent hours explaining how important the North London Derby was.

"He was so serious about the derby. We must’ve stayed up until 4, 5 a.m. the day I signed, and half the conversation was about how you do not lose to Spurs.

Ian Wright celebrates scoring against Tottenham at Highbury in the 1996/1997 season (Image: Ben Radford/Allsport)

"When I started to meet the fans and stuff they always said the same thing: “Make sure your score against Spurs. You score against Spurs you’ll be a legend instantly, doesn’t matter what you do after that.”

"By the time I left Arsenal, I had scored against Spurs four times. I wouldn’t have been able to do that without Rocky."